‘What Men Want’ is the film we wanted
Taraji P. Henson lifts remake far above problematic original
It’s hard to imagine that a single soul who remembers the details of “What Women Want” has been clamoring for a remake.
The concept for the 2000 movie — a man can suddenly hear women’s thoughts, and games the system accordingly — was problematic even before the #MeToo movement. Add to that Mel Gibson, a Hollywood-isproblematic poster child, in the starring role. Best to forget it ever happened, right?
And yet, “What Men Want” is an unexpected pleasure that’s heartfelt at times and humorous throughout. Yes, the plot is ridiculous and often coarse. Yes, the story is predictable. Yes, a condom stuck to a women’s jacket is played for laughs. But it’s a very steep uphill climb from there.
The entire film is lifted by Taraji P. Henson in the lead role, as a sports agent who is being held back by The Man (or, more accurately, The Men). She proves herself to be a Sandra Bullock-caliber physical comedian, blending clumsiness with fortitude.
As a result, this Adam Shankman-directed movie, which features a small child interrupting sex with lingerie on his head, is stealthily effective as a female empowerment story. Think “Working Girl,” if two or three of the Wayans brothers were allowed to punch up the script.
Henson is Ali, a hard worker who is a romantic disaster. The former feeds the latter in a sympathetic manner. Ali’s testosterone-injected workplace is so unfairly gamed against her, she has no time to do anything but work three times as hard as everyone else.
A bachelorette party, a tarot card reader (Erykah Badu, hilarious) and some hallucinatory tea are the catalyst for Ali’s newfound powers, which she initially considers a curse. Soon she’s using it to land a big client — Tracy Morgan stars as a notat-all-subtle insane LaVar Ball clone — before realizing the importance of being herself.
The comic potential takes precedence over the storytelling, often to a fault. The writers do little to develop Ali’s romantic interest, a comely bartender (Aldis Hodge) who is so predictably perfect he might as well be a cardboard cutout.
Other extremely talented cast members — most notably “The Goldbergs” TV mom Wendi McLendon-Covey as a best friend and Max Greenfield as a rival agent — are given too little to do, as if entire subplots fell to the cutting room floor. A centerpiece wedding scene is a rare miss.
But even when a scene misfires in “What Men Want,” the film grooves along on goodwill. Shankman, a choreographer who directed “The Wedding Planner” and the 2007 “Hairspray” remake, infuses his movies with flawed yet likable characters. By the end, even though the film is powered by a gimmick, it’s hard not to care.
Ignore any voices in your head telling you not to go see this funny and entertaining film, and be ready for a pleasant surprise.